Welcome to Atlanta Vol. 1

Consider this the Pookster newsletter. I'm hoping to do this weekly, but you all know how bad I am at commitment...so I'm not promising anything! This week's topic: things I encountered in Atlanta that I'd never seen in San Diego. (I'm limiting it to things from this week...as I have a terrible memory and can't possibly be expected to remember anything further back!) 1. A baseball RAIN DELAY! After I landed here on Tuesday night, my friend Sidd met me at the airport & we went to a Braves game (free tickets...the same awesome seats we had when you were out here TRosenwilkin!). Braves vs. Cubs, Sidd is a huge Cubs fan. He is also (or so I thought) a nerd, as evidenced by his bringing an UMBRELLA into the game (big dork!). But, by the middle of the 6th inning, it was his turn to laugh at me. It started pouring, and it took us forever to find cover (that's the bad part about really awesome seats...nowhere near cover!). He was kind enough to give me his Cubs hat to keep me dry. Surprisingly, it did nothing to keep me dry...it did, however, attract other Cubs fan, a few of whom were particularly friendly when Sidd left me alone while he went to the bathroom. 45 minutes into the rain delay, we finally asked a security guard how long a game had to be in delay before it was called. They looked at us like we were morons...but him being from Phoenix, me from San Diego, the concept of "rain delay" was completely foreign. When the rain finally let up, we went back to our seats, only to have the rain start up again. This time, we gave up & left. Lesson learned: a game has to be in delay for ONE HOUR (continuously) to be called. And always bring an umbrella. 2. A freaking OWL in my parking lot! Yep, after dropping Sidd off, I meandered home through the rain, exhausted and soaking wet. I pulled into my complex, and saw some big, fat bird land in the middle of the drive. I couldn't think of a "fat" bird I'd ever seen here, so it didn't compute at first...until it turned its head toward me. A huge OWL! It seemed taken with a small creature that I couldn't quite make out, but seemed to have four legs and hopped. I can only assume it was a frog. Which didn't compute either...do owls eat FROGS?? I don't remember that from any owl literature I've encountered (and, if you know me, you KNOW I've read ALL the owl literature out there!!). But that's not the point. Point was (I think) I'd never been that close to an owl outside of a zoo. Well, not counting our chimney back at Oakridge...but since we never SAW that owl, I can't really count it. 3. This one isn't really unique to Atlanta, but here is the first place I've had to take one: a Saturday morning grad school class! I really don't think my last grad school even OFFERED Saturday morning classes, but if they did, they obviously offered other options as well, because I never went to school on Saturday. The class I'm taking now (a required class) is ONLY offered Saturdays. At 8:30. A.M. Ouch. That's all for now. Be on the lookout for more exciting updates on the adventure I call my life!